In der Schule 2
German Schools - Schularten
Higher Education
An annotated English-German Glossary
with a self-scoring quiz
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Higher Education in Germany
Germany's oldest university is die Universität Heidelberg, founded in 1386. The university in Cologne (Köln) followed two years later. Most of Germany's other universities date back to the 15th and 16th centuries. In those times a university usually had only three colleges or schools (Fakultäten): law, medicine and theology. After the introduction of philosophy, other fields were also added over the years. The 1700s and 1800s saw the introduction of the TH (Technische Hochschule) in half a dozen German cities from Berlin to Stuttgart. Most of Germany's newer universities and technical colleges were established in the 1970s.
Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835)
Wilhelm's younger brother was the explorer and scientist Alexander von Humboldt. Wilhelm was a diplomat, philologist, and a man of letters, but one of his most important accomplishments was the reform of the German Bildungssystem (educational system). Wilhelm von Humboldt was appointed the Prussian minister of education in 1809. He then proceeded to overhaul German education, particulary at the secondary and higher education levels. Humboldt moved to make education more accessible to all classes of society and introduced higher standards and testing for both students and teachers. Berlin's first university was established by Friedrich Wilhelm III at the suggestion of Humboldt in 1810. The Berliner Universität (Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universität after 1928) opened with four schools or Fakultäten: law, medicine, philosophy, and theology. After World War II it became the Humboldt-Universität, named for Wilhelm and his brother Alexander. Today it is Berlin's third largest university, after the Freie Universität and the Technische Universität in the western part of Berlin. There are now about 15 other colleges and technical institutes in Berlin.
Below is a chart showing the major types of German institutions of higher learning today.
| German Schools & Colleges (2) Types of German Postsecondary Schools |
|
| Hochschularten (colleges & universities) | |
| Deutsch | English |
| die Berufsakademie | business academy (6 sem.) |
| die Fachhochschule (FH) | technical college |
| die Fernuniversität | distance-learning univ. |
| die Gesamthochschule (GH) | comprehensive college usually part of a university |
| die Hochschule | college, institute (NOT "high school") |
| die Kunsthochschule | art college, institute |
| die Musikhochschule | music college, institute |
| die Pädagogische Hochschule (PH) | teacher's college/College of Education usually part of a university |
| die Technische Hochschule (TH) | technical college, institute |
| die Theologische Hochschule | seminary, theology |
| die Verwaltungshochschule | college of adminstration (usually for public/government sector) |
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Universities in Germany
An overview of the system from German for Travellers (University of Victoria, Canada).
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